As a guy, over the years I have dealt with some rejections from women. I ultimately got over all of them because I learned that a rejection in the moment is not necessarily permanent. sometimes it's the wrong time or wrong situation to be pursuing someone in particular. I've also looked back and realized that perhaps the person I was pursuing wasn't a good fit for me after all.
The point I am trying to make is that rejection can be hard, but it's not impossible to live down or get over.
What I don't think I could ever live down is being called a creep. It's never actually happened to me, but I am always extremely cautious about cold approaches with strangers. I look for signals that the person might be interested, but even then it's a gamble.
For example, some people say eye contact then a quick look away is a sure sign of attraction. Other people say that women breaking eye contact and looking away is a sign of disinterest.
Some people say a woman playing with her hair during a conversation is a concrete signal of attraction, while others claim a woman tossing her hair during a convo means she's politely telling the guy to go away...
SO maybe I'm being irrational but I see these types of signals and still decide to not approach, as it could either mean attraction or... disgust. I have heard women talking about creeps on many occasions- I never want to be the subject of that kind of conversation.